Contact us
Back to All Posts

Let’s go Old School for Saturday, firing up somethings really different, in the works. There is a tractor and truck pull in Hammond, with a full two dozen different class styles to compete in. Enuf said on that. And to start a very full day at Wanderoos in Amery, dust off your old sneakers or boots and play in a pile of sawdust, or kick it with kickball, then stay for two different music acts, as it would not be The Fourth without tunes. (And to fully go July, you need an ice cream truck, so see the post below this one). And between those the new bands at Booster Days.

Its not often that you see this kind of activity, but the Fourth of July is for all ages, so there will be a big ol’ pile of sawdust to play in at the full-day blowout Saturday that heads off the holiday weekend at northernly UW Wanderoos in the heart of Amery.
So this is the dirt, so to speak, on playing in the dust, and if you are an adult, maybe even Old School and loved to see things like mud wrestling, this type of fodder underfoot will likely be the closest thing you’ll come upon these days. Catch it right after the kiddie parade. And its not just Dust in the Wind, as this is not Kansas, and you will not have to wait until dusk to play. But there is music, two different forms (see below).
(The only thing that we think can rival this as far as novelty is yard Olympics, part of ongoing events, through a charitable group called Cared4 4ever and spearheaded by a golf-course-extended not far south of Wanderoos. But with that said, as Saturday passes by and the rest of The Fourth prevails, check out the other special-events-based offerings that Wanderoos throws out there regularly, all throughout the year, and That Other Lions Club Thing in Hammond that takes the form of Heartland Days later in summer).
Also at the Wanderoos 55th annual Independence Day observance is a kickball game, again Old School, and its family friendly so don’t emulate that Dodgeball movie, but there is a beanbag tourney. To get fueled up for those things, there is a chicken dinner with entre option alternatives and all the fixins. The kickball kicks in at 12:30, and well beforehand is a 5K walk/run. So there is a lot going on early, so get there early.
Allyson Dyg is the one playing afternoon music, and with that kind of creative spelling one must think the music is anything but also-ran. Just like the sand/mud alternative. Then for four hours until midnight its County Line, fitting because of the location of Amery in Polk County, slightly north of the main urban center of this region and that’s a good thing, and you can bet there will be a whole lotta country kickin’ at this Old School street dance. And to also go traditional, you can come back for fireworks here on The Fourth itself. That as you might expect with a three-day holiday is the mainstay, main day for most such shows across western Wisconsin, and there are several in various locales, mostly running up and down the St. Croix River, extended a bit east.
Kinda kitty-korner south across the county line in Hammond, dead center in St. Croix County, is the annual tractor and truck pull on Saturday starting at 5 p.m. The tractor classes sound impressive, with 18 different four and five digit numbers as style IDs, and they throw around terms like not only Farm, but Turbo, Improved and Pro. So this isn’t just your daddy’s old basic green or red John Deere.
Truck classes are stock gas truck, improved gas truck, outlaw diesel truck (mine favorite name with or without Vin) and open diesel truck. Admission is only $10, and that’s a few cents per class you can view, and under ten are let in free, so educate the youngsters on the beauty of the roar and the visual spectacle, as again, this is a family holiday, and our forefathers built this country on horsepower, even if a different type.

But to get another new Booster musically, in this Day on Sunday all afternoon especially, check out Picks of the Week. But don’t wait, as you may be getting a call about parade lineup slots on Saturday morning, when it is announced. But call us child, we don’t necessarily plan on calling you.

Share the Post:

Related Posts

  • I’ll be (relatively) brief and punchy with this headline notation, as we transition to giving you more and sometimes shorter choices. And you may notice some of that as you beckon forward. It’s circular. Like a flush. Be careful what you mix, heads vs. text, drinks vs. food, and all kinds of potions — that may go bump in the night. —– Punchy, potentially, but I digress or progress with a new patriotic addition. And a second edition, an old Obsession, as in a concert.
My mom has told me not to be a potty mouth when I write, as she certainly would not appreciate hardly any of the standup humor on say, Comedy Central Radio. SNL maybe. But after 11:30 p.m. … But there comes a time where a man must make a stand. And for this jokester, it was now when he had to choose whether to pass on the opportunity that would otherwise bite him in the butt, for in front of and behind him is the Mother Lode. Or should I say load. Or “Mothers” of Invention. — On another stage, I dissed...
Read More
  • This coulda been Vanna White’s next Big gig In The Sky, if the scaffolding was not so high. So this is how the project went, by the letters and numbers, of get Trump’s name erased from the Kennedy Center. The $250 bill might be tougher. Sad but true. So, What are there more of going on right now, wars or Trump pet construction projects?
So the wall is down. Of letters, that is. Not down by Mexico. Cemented into the concrete. Of the Kennedy Center. Where music has sat. (Near where a now defunct wrestling arena rusts in peace. Or a bloodied White House lawn. With leftover paper cups and plates, more likely bowls and small utensils, anyone?) Or more ornate than inside? A tarp the size of Pennsylvania, the predominant battle state, covers workers as they chip. So geez, how big are the letters? Four times 50 living workers high? But now none remain, or so we are told by flunkies. Or is...
Read More
  • Stressed out as a caregiver? She’s back at yah. This is a rare case of a husband and wife being joint caregivers — for each other — aided and abbetted by the fact that they have a lot of the same disabling conditions. So she shovels snow using a walker/scooter, while he cooks gingerly using a microwave and offers her a plate when she sits down, in an easy chair, in a reversal and new take on traditional roles. Whatever it takes. Necessity is the mother of invention. —– In a new add, Towns and the champion Knicks got kicked around but still got their kicks in the long run … As do Norwegian dancers.
A few years back, I wrote an article about Hudson Deacon Tom Kroll and how he did so many extra dutiful tasks, his living out the Gospels tirelessly, when his wife was ill, in addition to his regular job. I was inspired at the time to pen this, about my own lovely, disabled wife — we were separated briefly but now back together with our 40th anniversary this month, as wholehearted caregiving has many strains — and how an atypical view of standard roles, out of necessity, made things work, as far as our approach to work and home that’s...
Read More
  • He says, and goes fishing with the boys. She says, then goes to the middle of Texas, inviting her mates to a ranch/villa built for the ages. The bachelor and bachelorette parties were on the same night, but though very different, they had some things in common … like the snakes, at least three kinds, to avoid. (None with exotic dancer.) But while away, they did not avoid each other, completely. He made a phone call. —– Just added, last call included a Carolina cowpoke.
What do fishing, maybe in the dark, thus a Texas ranch, snakes of various types and do they come or stay out after dusk, eating either and only fine food or snacks, and a game of cards — likely just one each — have in common. And no strippers or Chippendales. And an only half or quarter, not full Monty. (Who is Monty anyway?) Or cowboy or cowgirl hats. Although there was some dress-up. More Barbie than boots on, I think. It’s an easy answer, connected and conflicting, but not in all or dirty ways, bachelor and bachelorette parties. One of each...
Read More
  • Full metal jacket? Hey, I wasn’t exactly to the point of going Rob Halford. But tastes aside, there must be some reason why after 26 years I was shunned, like going Bob Daisley by Ozzy at his reunion? OK, I know, my style may not have fit with the packed crowd. And the last couple of times for this, I tried to do too much with ad-libbing. So yeah, I get that this time around, I was the somewhat unusual choice to be the one left off the set list, with singers clamoring to get up there. But seriously, just being analytical of strengths and weaknesses as a singer here, no hard feelings. I’m not Dio. (Or Traveling Wilburys, a when jumping inside, inside joke.)
It was clear to me at the most recent Jeff Loven music show in Hudson, for Memorial Day weekend, that there has been a changing of the guard. The sword has been passed. New blood, like Yungblud, has been brought in. And, I must say, loyalty — amongst the devotees who travel frequently and all across the two-state area to virtually all of Jeff’s shows — has been rewarded. They are the royalty, in what just makes good business sense that I can appreciate. In a significant but not unprecedented altering of course, I was not one of those asked...
Read More
  • Songs by Napalm Death? A fire swept down my very street today, where the babies were burned. (But alas, a new A/C unit is on its way up the freeway.) The Stones did not leave these themes unturned, either, or should I say unrolled. Oh wait, this all was my cooker of an apartment, and we are not talking the kitchen. But all these matters will become more pressing, a pressure point, as the new normal especially in southern climes is temp well into the triple digits. It is these people, the third world, and their heat stroke not mine, that most concern me. (Another example of hellfire temps just added. Sin after Sin.)
Trial by fire. My broiling heart in my efficiency flat still beats a bit, in concern over those boiling over in worse apartments in a Chicago tenancy, or on an ocean island instantly-burn-your-feet beach or dessert, or forced to endure ice baths just to keep cool — or simply be offered no way to maintain an ice-dripping body other than also read a non-cookbook at the library, or select not a big steak you can’t afford but a 73/27 burger from a freezer and slap it on your forehead. Just not too hard. All these things are ones where you especially today either burn or...
Read More
Scroll to Top